Unleashing the Power
by Jeremy Ray Logsdon

With a cry of alarm, he sat bolt upright and shouted, "Bulk no!"

Trini started to say something, stopped, and then finished what she was saying. "We did it!"

"Did what?" he complained as he fumbled for his bedside lamp. It then hit him and he shouted, "We did it?!"

"We did it! You were right! The inverted cosine function was the key! Now all we have to do is apply it!" Justin jumped out of bed and into Trini's arms. Grabbing him in a bear hug, she spun him around the room, both of them laughing wildly.

"What in God's name is going on in here?" David Cranston asked as he stumbled into Justin's room, closing his maroon robe over his boxers.

"We did it!" Justin and Trini shouted in unison.

"Did what?" David muttered.

"We've got the program for the slider we're gonna build!" Justin shouted.

"All we have to do is have Catalina bring us an energy signature from their original slider and we can go to that different dimension and bring them home!" Trini cried happily.

David smiled and looked at the ground. "That's wonderful," David said. "Justin, go back to bed. Trini,... you too."

"Can I sleep on the couch?" Trini asked him earnestly. "I'd really like to get started on this first thing in the morning."

"Whatever," David muttered. "Just be quiet."

"Thanks Mr. Cranston," Trini called after him.

"Good night, Dad!" Justin shouted to him.

"G'night kids," he droned as he walked to bed. Trini and Justin shared one final hug before she tucked him into bed. She suddenly realized she was tired, and laid down beside him, not thinking clearly, and fell asleep.

~*~

"Huh?" Justin muttered, sitting up in bed.

Trini yawned as well and sat up. What Tommy just said hit her, and she said sternly, "Thomas Tyler Oliver. I oughta kick your butt for that."

"I couldn't resist," Tommy said. "You two looked so cute together."

"Tommy? What are you talking about?" Justin stammered.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Tommy promised him, prompting yet another mean look from Trini.

"That must mean it's about sex," Justin muttered to himself as he climbed over Trini to get out of his bed.

"Man, we overslept," Trini said.

"What time is it?" Justin asked.

"Eight thirty," Tommy answered.

"Tommy? I just had another question. I thought you were in Covina," Justin asked. "Whatcha doing back?"

"Got a weekend off," Tommy said. "Besides, I'm going to start warming Uncle Frank up to the idea that before long, I may inexplicably disappear. I was gonna ask you if you wanted to do something today, but it sounds like you and Trini are gonna be busy."

"I need to talk to Becky," Justin said. "I've gotta convince her into letting me go with you all."

"No way!" Tommy protested.

"And why not?" Justin asked.

"Because-," Tommy stammered. He shot Trini a pleading glance, to which she could only shrug.

"Because I'm too young?" Justin asked. "I drive a giant truck through Angel Grove. I had the devil's soul in my head once. I'm not too young for that, but I'm too young to go sliding?"

"Well, I'm not your parent," Tommy said, "but I do know that I wouldn't let you go. It's not that I don't want you with us, it's just that I seriously doubt your parents will let you."

"I'm gonna try and talk them into it," Justin said. "I can be very persuasive."

Trini and Tommy watched as the young Ranger left the room. "You know," Trini said thoughtfully. "We are going to need him."

"How so?" Tommy asked.

"The kid's a genius," Trini told him. "If the device messes up, I don't know that I'll be able to fix it by myself. But, you're right, Rebecca probably won't let him. And I can't say as I blame her."

"Will he really be needed?" she suddenly asked from the door. Trini started to stammer that it was none of her business, but Rebecca said firmly, "And don't lie to me, Trini Kwan."

"Yes," Trini said coldly. "He would be a valuable asset. But, Tommy, Skull, and I will do fine on our own. There's really no reason why the slider should quit working."

Rebecca sighed and leaned against the doorframe as Tommy and Trini let themselves out. She had already lost one son, as well as Kimberly, who had been entrusted to her care, and was practically like a daughter to her. She realized with horror that she was actually considering letting Justin go.

~*~

"Any way we can help?" Zack asked.

"Thanks, but I don't think so," Catalina answered.

Zack, Aisha, and Tanya had showed up to help Trini in any way they could, although they didn't seem to have any way to help. They watched as Catalina wrote out a continual line of numbers on a hologram notebook. Alpha looked at the numbers as she wrote them down and entered them into the computer. "What exactly will this do?" Zack asked.

"The other slider had a cache file," Catalina explained, "which gives the exact energy signature of each dimensional barrier they crossed. Sigma, the other hologram from the dimension that they are currently in, has an assistant who has hooked their slider up to a computer. I'm currently looking at the read-out as it goes by on a monitor there. This is the only way to get it in our computer system. I write it as I read it, and Alpha enters it into the computer as I write it. It's all been compressed into a universal mathematical code, so it'll work with our slider. Then, when our slider is activated, it will allow whoever goes through the portal to follow the exact same path that the original five went through. After they get to wherever they're going, they can recall the coordinates of this dimension, also in numerical code, and just slide on home."

"Sounds complicated," Aisha groaned.

"It's not really hard," Catalina said, "just time consuming. Although looking in two dimensions at the same time is starting to make me dizzy."

"There's no other way to get it here?" Zack asked.

"Not unless you know of another way to look across the dimensional barrier." Catalina sighed and said, "Alpha. Let's take a break."

"You got it," the automaton agreed.

Catalina stretched and hopped up on top of a nearby console. Although she wasn't physical, she could still sit on physical objects. She could just as easily float in mid-air, or rather, give the illusion that she was floating in mid-air. She actually only had a small four foot by four foot timeless dimension, and whatever movement she made there, she made in the dimension she happened to be in. She could stand perfectly still in her dimension and go absolutely anywhere in space in any dimension, and never actually move a fraction of an inch. "Do they have Rangers in that world they're in?" Tanya asked. "Yeah. They have a different type of power. Blue, pink, red, green, yellow, and... purple."

"Purple?" Aisha asked. "That's pretty cool."

"Purple is just like Zack's Black Ranger," Catalina said. "Only purple. And Green Ranger is a Brachiosaurus. Other than that, they are just like the original team. But they aren't you all. Just six average Joes. Actually, one average Joe and five average Janes."

"Five girls?" Zack asked.

"Wipe that smile off your face," Aisha chided.

"I can't remember their names for the life of me," Catalina sighed, "but the whole Ranger concept in that dimension is totally different than it is here. There, the Earth doesn't even know it's in danger. Sigma has this really powerful Sword he uses to wipe people's memories so they forget monster attacks and stuff like that."

"That's weird," Zack commented.

"Doesn't make sense to me," Catalina agreed, "but every dimension is totally different from the next. Freakishly different in some cases." She decided not to comment that they were a television show in the other dimension. No use totally blowing their minds.

~*~

"I'm in my computer room, Justin," Rebecca called. "I decided to work from home today."

"I need to talk to you about something," Justin said. He walked into the room and sat in a large recliner near her desk. "Trini and I nearly have the slider ready to go on our little rescue mission. And -"

"You can go Justin," Rebecca sighed. Her fingers paused above the keyboard, and she slumped back in her chair. "I don't like it, but you can go."

"I can go?" Justin asked. "Just like that?"

"David and I talked this morning," Rebecca said. She took her glasses off and look at her son. "Five other kids need help. One of which is our other son. And Trini gave us the run-down of the mission. Since you won't have to stay in any world long enough to get in trouble, you can go. She said that you'll all be back about two days after you leave, which isn't too bad. And even though it scares me worse than anything to think I might lose you too, you can go as well."

"Thank you," Justin said, throwing himself at Rebecca to give her a hug. "Plus, I'll have my Ranger powers to protect me."

"Right," Rebecca agreed.

"Uh oh," Justin said as a lightbulb clicked in his head. "I won't either. I don't have the Ninja Power, and the Turbo Power will stay here with my Zord."

"Okay," Rebecca said, "now this changes my answer. We said you could go when we thought you would have powers."

Justin's face immediately dropped into an unhappy frown. "I'll go ask Zordon if there's anyway I can take my Turbo Powers with me." He teleported away in a flash of blue, thoroughly disgusted, although Rebecca was greatly relieved that she had a valid excuse to keep Justin at home.

~*~

"Justin," Zordon boomed, "the Turbo Powers cannot be permitted to leave this dimension."

"Oh," Justin said, terribly crestfallen. "However, if you are up to the challenge, I have considered an alternative."

"Anything!" Justin cried.

"Then you shall journey to the Desert of Despair to receive a Power Coin from Ninjor, and then to the Planet of Phaedos to activate the Great Power."

~*~

"Hold on a second," Bulk said. "I still cannot in my mind figure out how both you and Ninjor work into the equation. I've heard this story from your perspective, the Rangers, and what I've seen with my own eyes. It doesn't make sense. Seems to me like you should need one or the other."

"Here's how it works," Dulcea said. "Ninjor is the only person in this dimension who can make Power Coins. He's it. No one else. I am the Master Warrior of the planet Phaedos, and I'm the only person who can give access to the Ninja Powers.

"Originally, Ivan Ooze destroyed the Command Center. That caused the power to be destroyed, but the Power Coins weren't. They were just blank, and didn't have the Morphin ability that Ninjor originally gave them. So, Alpha sent them to Phaedos to receive the Great Power.

"I judged them worthy of being Ninjetti, so I took them to the Sacred Grounds so that they could learn of their Totems. The Sacred Grounds are the only place where one can be absolutely one hundred percent sure of their Totem. I gave them their Ninjetti Suits, and then they went to find the Great Monolith. Once they found the Monolith, their empty Power Coins were recharged. The Monolith also gave them their NinjaZords.

"The Rangers came back to Earth, destroyed Ivan Ooze, and used the Power to save Zordon. They put their NinjaZords aside as back-up Zords. Then, Rito showed up, and destroyed the ThunderZords, and in the process, their recharged Power Coins. They still had their Ninjetti Powers, but no Ranger powers, because they had no coins. That's why they went to Ninjor in the Desert of Despair. He gave them new coins, and siphoned their Ninja Powers from the Monolith back into their coins. This is why Kimberly was able to pass her coin on to Katherine. It didn't have as strong of a bodily hold on her as the originally charged coin from the Monolith had. Follow me so far?"

"I think so."

"Things were good until the Orb of Doom was used to reverse the timeline. This made their coins absolutely worthless, because they were seven years prior to the activation of the Monolith. The coins they held were pretty much powerless, and this is why Lord Zedd and Rita were able to destroy them. That caused a timeline snag, and it was as if the Monolith was never activated in the first place.

"When time was restored, the Rangers were still powerless, because the Monolith had been activated in a different time, and they no longer had their Ninjetti Powers in any shape or form. They couldn't go to Ninjor to get more coins, because the Machine Empire had already shown up, and Klank and Orbus sullied Ninjor's Gold Vein with cog oil. So the Zeo Crystal was used.

"Nothing much happened until the Earth Crystals tobbasco-"

"Fiasco," Bulk corrected.

"-when the gold vein was cleaned up, and new coins could be made. Because all of that happened in yet another alternate time, due to the Crystal of Time, it was once again as though the Great Monolith had been activated, so the Coins were charged as soon as the Rangers knew their Totems. Once the Crystal of Time was activated again, or deactivated, depending on your perspective, the first alternate timeline was restored, where the Great Monolith was originally activated, but deactivated due to the wrinkle in time. That's why Justin and I must reactivate the Great Monolith, hopefully for the last time. When it is activated in real time, any Ranger with knowledge of their totem will have the capability of becoming a Ninjetti."

"Those are the colored suits, right?"

"Right," Dulcea said. "It's good for fighting against minor warriors, like putties, or Tengas, but the Ninjetti warrior doesn't actually have Ranger abilities. Just enhanced fighting skills. No weapons either, although there are some very unique illusionary fighting skills unique to the Ninjetti. That's what Ninjetti mode is best for."

"My head is full," Bulk complained.

"You just have eighteen years worth of memories," Dulcea said. "Try twenty thousand."

"How old are you exactly?"

"I think, and I may be off a year or two, that I'm around twenty thousand, two hundred, and eighty-nine. I don't really know. But, according to Alpha, I was born on December 22, 1973. So, I'm twenty-three."

"Cool," Bulk said. "I'm dating an older woman." Beep beep beepbeep beep beep.

"We read you, Zordon," Dulcea said into her white communicator. "Dulcea? Justin is almost ready to leave for the Desert of Despair. Are you?"

"I'll be there in a minute, Zordon," Dulcea said. "If you'll excuse me, Bulk, I have to get ready."

~*~

"Dulcea?" Tanya asked cautiously. "I thought we had you out of the bikini phase."

"This is what I have worn on Phaedos for twenty millennia," Dulcea said. "I may have accepted your bizarre Earth customs of covering nearly the entire body, but when I am in training, I wear my clothing." She turned to look at Justin, and noticed there was a blush across his cheeks. "Justin? You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," he said eagerly. "I mean, whatever you're comfortable in."

"What will you all do for food?" Skull asked.

"We've got water for the Desert of Despair," Justin said, pointing to the thermos hanging on his backpack.

"If Ninjor isn't too cranky when we wake him up, we'll have him feed us," Dulcea said.

"Otherwise, we go to Phaedos." Justin twisted his right arm, summoning his Turbo Key. His Turbo Morpher simultaneously appeared on his left wrist, and he wondered briefly if he would ever get a chance to use them again. He quickly unstrapped the Turbo Morpher, and looked at it thoughtfully. "Bulk, will you take my Powers?"

"Me?" Bulk asked. "I don't know if I'm ready to be on active duty."

"Bulk," Zordon boomed, "while taking the active Blue Turbo Powers is a large responsibility, we all have the utmost faith in your abilities. If you are willing, you shall be the Blue Turbo Ranger until Justin returns from his adventure across the dimensions."

Bulk nodded slowly. "You sure? What about Tommy or Trini? You both have more Ranger experience than I do."

"We'll both be leaving with Justin when he comes back," Trini said. Bulk cast a look to his best friend, but Skull immediately countered, "I'm going to."

"The fewer times the power changes hands, the better it will be for everyone," Catalina said.

"You will find that it has acclimated itself to Justin's biorhythms, and will take some time before it is completely yours." Bulk took the morpher from Justin. "I'll do it," he promised. As soon as he strapped the Turbo Morpher onto his left wrist, both it and the key disappeared in a blue flash.

"Keep Mountain Blaster in one piece for me," Justin said with a wry grin. "Ready Dulcea?"

"Ready. Hit it, Alpha."

"You got it," the robot said. Dulcea and Justin began to glow white and blue, respectively, and then vanished in two explosions of color.

~*~

"It sounds so sad," Justin remarked.

"Well, let's get going," Dulcea told him. "It's a very long hike to his Temple, and we have to make the most of our time."

~*~

"I can't," she moaned. Sitting down on a rock, she removed the flap of leather at her waist, revealing the simpler green garment, identical to bikini bottoms, beneath. She then pulled her knee high leather boots off as well, and proceeded to stuff it ito her backpack.

"You don't wear much clothes, do you?" Justin asked nervously. _Man, puberty bites!_

"That's my only complaint against Earth," Dulcea said. "Everybody there is so paranoid about their bodies. And the only people who aren't paranoid about their bodies are sex freaks in those weird newspapers." Justin assumed she meant magazines, but didn't bother to correct her. "I mean, look at me right now. Everything vital is covered up, yet even this is considered far too much to be revealed. Unless I'm near water, and then, it's okay. Look at you. You're just wearing shorts and shoes, right now. I don't see the problem with that, but you wouldn't wear something like that to school, would you?"

"Of course not," Justin said. "You have to wear a shirt to school."

"Why?" Dulcea asked, not for sarcasm but because she really wanted an answer. "If it's okay in front of me, why not in front of everybody?"

"Can we stop talking about clothes?" Justin groaned. His voice cracked slightly on the word clothes, and he hoped that Dulcea didn't notice.

"Sure," Dulcea said. "I still don't get it, but I suppose my ways are as foreign to you as yours are to me." Justin nodded in agreement. "Ready to keep on going?"

"Yeah," Justin said. "Do you know how much farther?"

"Not much," Dulcea told him. "We're halfway there, anyhow." She suddenly paused, and sniffed the air.

"Dulcea?"

"Wait...." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I smell water. A body of water. Like a lake. And it's clean! Come on!" Despite the fact that she was barefoot, she began to run across the hot sand.

"Hold up!" Justin called after her. He caught up with her at the ledge of a cliff.

"Water," she said. Glancing at the sky, she said, "We've got a little time to kill. Wanna go for a swim?" Without asking his opinion, she dove off of the cliff and into the lake below.

Justin watched in disbelief as she plummeted to the water, several dozen feet below. He couldn't help but see her as a mentor, much like Catalina and Zordon, and he wouldn't expect her to act like that. Unlike Zordon, Catalina at least had a sense of humor, but even she didn't come close to Dulcea. So carefree, and fun. _And gorgeous...._

"Are you gonna jump in?!" Dulcea called from far below. "It's beautiful down here!"

"On my way," Justin said. Taking his backpack off, he quickly stepped out of his shoes, yanked his socks off, and jumped off of the cliff. He sluiced into the water and darted far beneath the surface from his momentum. The water was crystal clear and cool, nothing at all like what he would have expected in the Desert of Despair. He finally stopped sinking, and gave a couple of powerful strokes to reach the surface.

"That cooled me off," Dulcea sighed, relaxing her body to float on her back.

"Yeah," Justin agreed, treading water near her. "Dulcea? Are you going to go sliding?"

"Huh?" she asked, looking in his direction.

"When we go to bring the other Rangers back home," Justin said, "are you coming with us?"

"No," Dulcea told him. "I'm going to stay in Angel Grove, to help fight against Jenga."

"Oh." They floated in silence for a while longer before Justin asked, "Do you remember your parents, Dulcea?" She was immediately so quiet he feared he had said something to offend her, or hurt her.

"Vaguely," she answered at long last. She sank beneath the water for a moment and then reappeared beside him. "My parents were killed by Ivan Ooze's armies when I was very young, no more than your age. And I've got more than twenty thousand years worth of memories since then, so you can imagine that my memories are more than a little fuzzy."

"I'm sorry," Justin said sheepishly.

"Don't be," Dulcea answered. "I remember enough about them. My mother's name was Novell, and my father was Giardi. We lived in a village in what is now Australia. I think. I'm not too sure. Anyhow, our little village, Munford, was the first place on Earth Ooze attacked. He raped our lands, murdered our citizens, and made it into his base of operations on Earth. I was the sole survivor. How I survived, I'll never know, but I did.

"Zordon was on Earth, but he had yet to be sealed in his time warp. He trained me in the ways of fighting. He told Ninjor of me, and I was given a very powerful responsibility. That is how I become Master Warrior of the planet Phaedos. I was to guard the Sacred Grounds of the Ninjetti.

"Phaedos had long been destroyed when I arrived. All that was left was a rapidly crumbling civilization and the Sacred Grounds. That was my only duty, to guard the Sacred Grounds. Potential Ninjetti came to Phaedos, and if I deemed them worthy, I trained them in the ways of the Ninjetti so they could attempt to tap the Great Power. Some risked their lives to continue for the power, while most left with just their Ninjetti Training. When the end of my life came, I expected to pass on. I didn't. I had spent so much time on the Sacred Grounds, I had placed myself in a time warp. I was returned to my youthful body, the one I have now, and was quite literally trapped for the rest of time as the Guardian of the Sacred Grounds. The first time I left was when Catalina gave me the Crystal of Time."

"Will you ever die?" Justin asked, now completely awe-struck at the amazing woman before him.

"I don't know," Dulcea said. "I suppose the Sacred Grounds will keep me alive so long as there is evil to protect the universe from." Dulcea cast her eyes up at the sky, and quickly said, "We must hurry. If we don't reach Ninjor's Temple before dark, we are in danger of freezing to death."

"How much longer do we have?"

"Long enough, but we must still hurry."

~*~

"We are almost here," Dulcea said, holding the lit torch out before her. "If memory serves me, Ninjor's Temple is just beyond that stone wall."

"How do we get in?"

"We walk through," she said, crouching down to pick up a stone. She lobbed it at the wall, and with a faint crackle of white electricity, it vanished. "This is it. You go through first; I will follow with the torch." Justin walked up to the wall, took a deep breath, and with his hands out before him, stepped through.

Sunlight and warmth immediately washed over him, as well as a breeze of fresh air. "Oh wow," he sighed as he took in the sight of the perpetually spring-time environment of Ninjor's Temple.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Dulcea asked, extinguishing her torch.

"It is," Justin agreed, completely awestruck.

"I should warn you, though," Dulcea said cautiously, "Ninjor is cranky when he wakes up."

~*~

"Justin is very worthy of the Ninja power," Dulcea told Ninjor. She knew that if Ninjor didn't have to go through the entire process of scanning Justin's mind, it wouldn't take as long and he wouldn't get as upset. For such a powerful sage, he was surprisingly cranky.

"Okay, just give me a minute," Ninjor grumbled. "What kind of armor do you get?"

"Blue Turbo," Justin said.

"Turbo?" Ninjor asked.

"Just make a coin to extract the armor from his biorhythms," Dulcea explained. "He's worn the Blue Turbo armor before."

Ninjor grumbled his complaints and disappeared from the fog filled Temple room, only to appear a few moments later with a small golden coin. "Here, kid."

"This is it?" Justin asked, taking the coin.

"Ta-da."

"I gotta be honest with you," Justin said, "I was expecting more. I thought this was some kind of spiritual quest."

"Dulcea's the chick to do that," Ninjor explained. "I just make the coins. Can I go back to sleep?"

Justin looked at the blank gold coin in his palm. "Come, Justin," Dulcea said, motioning him closer. "Thank you, Ninjor. Your help is much appreciated."

"Not a problem," he said with a yawn. "I'll see you guys later. No offense, but preferably, much later." Blue light overwhelmed his body, and he darted to his urn in a streak of blue.

"This is very disillusioning," Justin complained.

"The best is yet to come," Dulcea promised. "Come with me."

Taking Justin's hand, the two disappeared in a brilliant dual teleport streak of blue and white lights.

~*~

"The Sacred Grounds of Phaedos, to be precise," Dulcea said. "We will find your Animal Guide, and then retire for the night. Tomorrow morning, we begin your Ninjetti Training. It will be one of the most excruciating weeks of your life, but it will also be the most productive and rewarding."

"Excruciating?" Justin asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Give me a moment to build the fire," Dulcea told him. "Then we will begin."

~*~

Justin closed his eyes just as Dulcea blew the sand into the fire. A whirlpool of blue sparkles of light blew around him, and he felt himself leave his body. He realized he couldn't have opened his eyes, even if he had wanted to, for suddenly, he didn't even seem to have a body. He could feel movement, and it took him a moment to categorize the sensation. He felt as though he were floating in a body of water, and the gentle undulation of the waves was the only sensation he felt.

Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he was back in his body. However, he was not on the Sacred Grounds. He was underwater. Beautiful colored lights shone down through the endlessly deep water. Colored sands and coral decorated the ground beneath him, but otherwise, the water was empty. He wanted to breathe, yet when he tried to breathe, he found that he couldn't. His body didn't require oxygen, it just wanted it, no doubt from habit rather than a physical need. _Where am I?_ Justin asked himself. Then, tiny little creatures began to swim all about him. Justin stared at them with wide eyes, and the realization hit him.

He had found his Spirit Animal.

~*~

"Since I fight on Earth, I thought I should have a costume to disguise myself," she said, pulling her own hood and mouth sash down.

_No more bikini?_ "You look really cool," Justin said.

"Justin, I'm going to go get us some dinner. Do you eat meat?"

"I eat meat."

"If you can, start a fire in my compound," she said. "It's just down beneath this hill. Can you handle that?"

"I think so," Justin said.

~*~

"I caught it with my bare hands and broke it's neck before it even knew what had happened," she explained. "Lousy creatures. They've overrun the entire planet."

"Tastes good," Justin moaned, patting his stomach through his Ninja suit. "But I am stuffed."

Dulcea nodded her agreement. "I know it hasn't been dark long, but you should get your sleep," she said. "Tomorrow is the start of your training. The next week will be the hardest week of your life, yet it will also be the most rewarding."

"Joy," Justin remarked flatly.

~*~

By the third day, they had a very preset routine. Dulcea attacked him to wake him up. She continued attacking him until he fought back, and she fought him until he either gave up or had her in a position to kill her. He knew that Dulcea was holding off on her skill, and fought him with a skill that rivaled his own- superb by Earth standards, infantile by hers.

"There's only one other person with fighting skills equal to mine, Justin," Dulcea explained. "And she doesn't fight on our side."

~*~

"For what?"

"To journey through the Neola Jungle with no fear of losing," she explained. "You are a true Ninjetti Warrior now, Justin."

"Really?" Justin asked. "You kick my butt every day!" Dulcea smiled and said, "Justin, in one week, you have gained as much expertise as ... Tommy, for instance, has gained in the past five years."

"I'm better than Tommy?" Justin asked, lifting his eyebrows.

"I didn't say that," Dulcea said. "Tommy's been training most of his life. But you could hold your own in a battle against him now, provided he wouldn't fight dirty. By the time you are his age, provided you continue in the martial arts, you will be a world renowned martial artist. But you must never enter any competitions."

"Why not?"

"You have a very unfair advantage," she said. "You are only the second Earthling to have the Ninjetti training."

"Who's the first?"

"Me."

Justin pondered what she had told him for a while, before finally asking, "What can I expect? In the Neola Jungle?"

"Every group of warriors that journey for the Great Power have experienced different dangers," Dulcea explained. "What we will find is a complete and total mystery."

"How many people have tried for the Great Power?"

"Tried? The grounds are littered with the bones of those who have tried. Succeeded? Only the team from Earth has successfully activated the Great Power."

"That's it?"

"That's it," Dulcea said. She smiled warmly and said, "There's no need to worry, however. We've both had Ninjetti training. Most others I have approved have been in a situation of dire emergency and have not had the time to train. As such, they were unprepared, and with one exception, did not succeed." Justin realized uncomfortably that Dulcea was actually a bit misty-eyed at that admission. He had known she was alone on Phaedos, but he had never actually considered how hard it must have been on her to be the Power's Guardians. To have people show up every few years at best, and then to know that they would probably die, often for entirely unselfish motives, was bound to have been hard on her. It was no wonder that she was so eager to leave Phaedos and rejoin society. It also explained why she acting so bizarrely in the beginning. "Provided things go well, how long will it take?"

"One day. We should be home this time tomorrow. Go get some sleep. You'll need your rest."

~*~

"I don't like this at all." MasterVile stepped up behind her and delicately placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Jenga forced a smile and answered, "I'm fine."

"Is Justin broadcasting his dreams again?" Jenga made a face. She did not enjoy having her sleep disrupted by the dreams of a pubescent twelve year old, especially one who was currently trapped on a distant planet with a beautiful shapely woman in a leather bikini. "Well, yeah, but that's not what I'm upset about."

"Anything I can help you with?" MasterVile asked.

Jenga smiled warmly but shook her head. "No, that's all right. There's nothing that can be done," she said. "Go ahead and get your rest hon." She remained on the stone windowsill for some time. "Of all the things I expected to happen," she remarked, "this wasn't one of them. I thought I was immortal."

Jenga knew what would happen when Justin tapped the Great Power. She was going to die. Their bond would link her with the power, and the extreme purity of the Great Power would completely and totally annihilate her.

~*~

"Hello Justin," she said.

"No, it can't be," Justin stammered, taking a step back.

"It is," she said again. "I thought I'd pay you a visit while I could."

"Mom," Justin breathed. Biting back a sob, he threw himself at her. She collapsed beneath his sudden weight but took him into her arms, laughing the whole way to the ground. "I can't believe it's you!" Justin cried.

"It's me," she promised. "Since you're on the Sacred Grounds, I can visit you."

"Mom, I miss you so much," Justin said.

"I know, honey. But don't. Everything has turned out for the best. I'm just sorry I married that evil man."

"Me too," Justin remarked. "How's Dad?"

"Chris is doing just fine," Alicia Stewart told him.

"Does he mind that I call Mr. Cranston Dad?" Justin asked cautiously. He had never known his father, but he still didn't want to do anything to hurt him.

"We're both very happy that you've found a new family," Alicia promised him. "In fact, that's sort of why I'm here. About Rebecca."

"Becky?"

"You should call her Mom, too," Alicia said.

"But she's not you."

"I know, but she still loves you, just as much as I did. She's your mother now, too."

"But... you're my mom."

"So is she," Alicia said, pulling Justin into a tight hug. "She deserves to be recognized as such. It would mean more to her than you could ever now."

"But she told me to call her Becky," Justin countered.

"Do it for me," Alicia said. "Please? Just because you call her Mom won't make me any less your Mom."

"Okay," Justin promised. "I'll call her Mom."

"Thank you," Alicia said, giving her son a gentle kiss on the cheek. "We've been watching you from up there."

"Up there?"

"Wherever you want to call it," Alicia said. "Heaven, paradise, Nirvana, it has a lot of names, but it's all the same place."

"Do all of the dimensions have different heavens?" Justin asked. That was one thing that confused him more than anything else. He had heard of multiple dimensions before, but until becoming a Ranger, he hadn't actually believed it. Now that he had proof that there were dimensions, it raised a lot of bizarre questions.

"Same one," Alicia said. "I've met hundreds of me's, all from different dimensions, and all different people. I've even met a couple of you's. Did you know in some dimensions your father's name was Rick? Same man, just a different name."

"I still can't believe it's really you," Justin sighed. "How will I know tomorrow morning that this wasn't a dream."

"Honey, this is a dream," Alicia said. "I'm visiting you in your dream. I can't leave the afterlife, but I can talk to you when your mind is really open, like it is on the Sacred Grounds."

"Oh," Justin said. "How will I know it's real?"

"I don't know how to convince you," Alicia said, "but even if you think it is just a dream, wouldn't that be nice enough?"

"I suppose so," Justin remarked.

Alicia suddenly tensed up and looked behind her. The bright white light returned, tenfold. "I have to go, Justin. Remember I love you always."

"So soon?" Justin asked.

"I'm afraid so, sweetie," she said. "Your father and I both love you very much. Don't let Jenga get you down. You can beat her."

"About Jenga," Justin said, climbing to his feet as his mother began to walk toward the light. "Do you know why we have our bond?"

"Yes, I do know."

"Will you tell me?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me," Alicia said. "You'll find out soon enough."

"When?" Justin asked.

"Soon enough," Alicia said. "Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough. I love you, Jus-"

~*~

Justin snorted and sat up. He was wearing his Ninjetti Suit, and knew fully well that he hadn't morphed into it before bed.

~*~

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Justin asked.

"Positive," Dulcea said. She was, however, starting to get concerned. They were more than halfway to the Great Monolith and it had yet to test them. The only six to succeed had been attacked by a skeleton, as well as the Gargoyles at the Monolith. Very few survived the first attack, and only six had survived the final attack. She thought briefly that perhaps nothing had happened because she was on the search as well, but the Monolith should have been testing her as well. Suddenly, spikes began to shoot up out of the ground all around them.

"Whoa!" Justin cried, darting away just as one would have impaled him.

"I knew it!" Dulcea shouted. "We have to go up!" She flipped aside, barely missing what would have been immediate death. "Snow Owl!" she cried, and the hood and sash of her Ninjetti Suit was in place.

"Seahorse!" Justin cried as well. He leapt into the air and grabbed ahold of a low branch, quickly pulling himself up into the tree. Spikes continued to burst out of the ground, forming an impassable floor if stone spikes. Justin stood up on the branch. The tree they were in was of a very unique design. It didn't appear to be very tall, but its branches extended for hundreds of feet straight out, complete with smaller branches that intersected them all. Justin strained to look through the maze of branches and limbs, and finally caught a glimpse of silver. He quickly ran in her direction.

Dulcea somersaulted into a standing position. Her head whipped to the left and then the right, looking for any trap. "Nothing," she whispered. She caught a glimpse of royal blue on the other side of the tree, and she began to make her way over to the younger Ninja. Justin suddenly took a wrong step. He stepped on a branch, and it promptly gave way beneath him. He gave a slight cry as he fell, expecting to fall on the spikes. However, he had somehow made his way to the section of the branch above a cliff's edge and hit the steep bank. His feet turned sideways, trying to secure a purchase in the loose dirt. He cast a glimpse downward as he continued to slide down the extremely steep cliff wall. A raging river was several hundred feet below him, and he saw no way of stopping himself before hitting it.

"Justin!" Dulcea cried, running to the farthest edge of a branch. She looked down and saw him sliding toward the river. "The cave," she whispered to herself. Without a moment's hesitation, she leapt off of the branch head-first. She aligned her body in an attempt to catch up with Justin. Wind rushed past her as she free-falled, parallel with the cliff. Despite being unable to stop himself, Justin was able to stay on the incredibly steep bank. Dust billowed out all about him, and he worried briefly how much longer it would be before his feet stopped sliding and he tumbled end over end down to the river. Dulcea suddenly swooped past Justin, and immediately upon doing so, flipped once in mid-air and threw herself back into the bluff. She hit the loose dirt with a thud, and then began sliding down. She turned sideways and used her left hand to guide herself in her descent. The cave, if she remembered correctly, was just a few yards below her and to the left. The ground suddenly gave way beneath her, and she fell backwards into the cave. Several large sections of dirt fell away in the process, opening up the entire mouth. She ran to the edge of the cave and waited for Justin to slide past. He saw her and attempted to maneuver closer to her. A few moments later, he was close enough for her to reach out and latch onto his suit. She quickly hauled him to safety.

"Man, that was unpleasant," Justin groaned, brushing the dust off of his suit.

"Are you okay?" Dulcea asked.

"I'm fine. Now how do we get out of here?"

"We have to journey through the cave," Dulcea answered.

"This is the test." Justin's eyes widened slightly. "What about lights?"

"We'll make a torch," Dulcea said. "Find two rocks. I'll get the other stuff we need."

~*~

"Let's sure hope so," Dulcea sighed. They reached a juncture of the cave and were presented with three possible paths. "Keep going center?" Dulcea asked.

"You're asking me?" Justin asked. "Straight is fine, I guess." The two continued walking. At times, the path was so thin that even Justin had a hard time getting through. They walked for an indeterminate length of time, and never once did they come across any type of crevice or opening that lead outside. Dulcea didn't want to admit it, but she was afraid they were lost. However, they soon found themselves in a large dome-shaped cavern. Crystals lined the walls, and when the light from their torches hit them, rainbow colored shards of light danced all about them. "It's beautiful," Justin said softly.

"Justin," Dulcea said warily, slowly backing away. "We may have just made our fatal mistake."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked.

"Remember that little incident back on Earth with the prom?" Dulcea asked.

"The Prawm?" Justin asked.

"Yeah," Dulcea said. "This is its lair." Suddenly, the sound of toenails clicking against the stone floor sounded behind them. The two Ninjetti Warriors spun around, just in time to see a scurrying shape roll a large rock before their only way out.

"I thought you said you could kill the Prawm," Justin said, looking about the dark shadows of the room nervously.

"I can, in my environment," Dulcea said. "This is its home."

The Prawm screamed angrily and suddenly jumped into the middle of the room. Justin gave a gasp and took several steps back. The Prawm had heavily armored black skin, a head that seemed to grow directly from its body without a neck, complete with a mouth adorned with spike-like teeth, and disproportionately long arms. Its feet resembled those of a velociraptor, differing only in that each toe held a giant curved claw, as did each finger. Four amber colored eyes formed a perfect line above the beast's mouth. "We can do this, Dulcea," Justin said.

"We have to," Dulcea agreed. "Snow owl!"

"Seahorse!"

At their battle cries, the Prawm jumped at Dulcea. She quickly flipped away, narrowly missing a clawed punch to the chest. Justin ran up to the Prawm and side-kicked it in the back. It bellowed angrily and swung a hand around behind it. Justin threw himself backwards, the blades missing him by mere inches. The Prawm spun around to attack him, but Justin was a fraction of a second faster and darted away. "Your kind has cursed this planet long enough!" Dulcea cried, launching herself at the Prawm's back. She spin-kicked the creature as she flew past it, and quickly rolled away. Justin took the creature's momentary distraction to attack again. He ran up to the beast, lifted his right leg in the air, and executed a hard snap-kick to the small of its back. As it screamed in anger and pain, Justin darted away. Dulcea cartwheeled to the Prawm's back and side-kicked it in the back of its head. Once again, the Prawm attempted to claw her, but she flipped away, narrowly missing a fatal blow. Her eyes then fell on a particularly sharp stalactite which had fallen from the ceiling. "Justin! Distract it!"

"You got it!" Justin shouted. He ran directly in front of the Prawm. "Come and get me, you ugly, buck-toothed freak of nature!" The Prawm slowly turned to look at the Blue Ninja. It stared Justin down for a moment, and then ran at him. Justin contemplated the situation for a second, and then ran at the Prawm. The black beast raised both arms up for a fatal double slash. Just as Justin would have been in its path, he flipped up and over, escaping injury.

"Justin!" Dulcea cried. He looked up just in time to see her charge him with a stone spike in her hands. "Duck!" She launched it like a javelin before he even had time to reply.

"Whoa!" he cried, dropping to the ground in a split and pressing his chest to the stone floor. The stalactite flew through the air, straight as an arrow. The Prawm screamed angrily and spun around, just in time to get lanced. The Stalactite sank into the Prawm's abdomen, causing purple blood to spurt out of the wound. Justin scrambled to his feet and hurried over to Dulcea. The Prawm clutched desperately at the stalactite. Its hands slipped over the stone, due to the great amount of blood gushing over it. It then gave one last growl and collapsed, dead. "You killed it?" Justin asked.

"We had to," Dulcea said softly.

Suddenly, the entire room began to shake. "Oh, now what?" Justin complained. As if in response, the back wall began to slid backward, revealing a stone staircase.

"We're almost there," Dulcea said. "This was our first test. Come with me." She pushed the silver hood and sash off of her head and began to run up the steep stairs. Justin was close behind.

~*~

"We've almost done it?" Justin asked happily.

"Almost," Dulcea said with a happy smile. "One more test. What it will be is anyone's guess. Are you ready to finish the journey?"

"Ready," Justin answered.

~*~

~*~

"Could it be the gargoyles again?" Justin asked, referring to the original six Rangers test.

"Possible," Dulcea said thoughtfully, walking up the stone steps to the closed temple gate. She touched one of the gargoyles thoughtfully. "Though I doubt it." She rested her hand against the gargoyle's stone spire, waiting for it to make any type of move. "Not the gargoyles." She turned around, and her eyes immediately flew open in shock. Justin turned around as well, just in time to see two Ninjetti Warriors approach him, a tall female wearing silver, and a short male wearing blue. "No way."

"Totally," Justin's double said with a sly grin.

"We can't defeat ourselves," Dulcea muttered as she slowly descended the steps to stand beside Justin.

"I believe that's the whole point," Fake Dulcea said with an evil grin.

"What are they Dulcea?" Justin asked. "Illusions?"

"Illusions of the flesh," Dulcea answered grimly.

"As real as you and me," Fake Dulcea finished. "Snow Owl!"

"Seahorse!" Fake Justin shouted, and they were immediately completely and totally clad in their Ninjetti suits.

The real Dulcea and Justin followed suit. Dulcea looked at Fake Justin. She knew that she could kill him three times before he hit the ground. Unfortunately, that probably meant Fake Dulcea could do the same to Real Justin. "So, who makes the first move?" Justin asked.

Rather than reply, Fake Justin lurched at him, burying his shoulder into Justin's stomach. Fake Dulcea immediately ran at her real counterpart. Silently, Dulcea flipped into the air, narrowly missing her doppelganger. As soon as one foot touched the ground, she lashed out with the other, catching Fake Dulcea in the small of the back with the heel of her split toed boot. Fake Dulcea spun around, and the two immediately launched into hand to hand combat.

Justin flipped Fake Justin over his head, and as soon as he hit the ground, Justin punched him solidly in the chest. Fake Justin moaned in pain and thrust his hand up at Justin's neck. His gloved hand clamped around Justin's throat, squeezing with a strength Justin didn't know he had. That thought suddenly gave Justin a revelation. He immediately shifted his weight and crushed his knee into Fake Justin's groin. The fake boy gave a cry of pain, and as soon as his hand let go of his throat, Justin jumped to his feet. "That's the problem, Justin," Justin spat. "You know my strengths, I know your weaknesses."

"That was a dirty trick," Fake Justin growled as he clambered to his feet. He put his hands up in a defensive stance, which Justin mirrored. Fake Justin planted all of his weight on his left foot and lashed out with his right, intending to catch Justin in the chin. However, the real Justin was too quick for him, and flipped away.

Suddenly, a flash of silver crossed between the two dueling Justin's. Dulcea grabbed Fake Justin by his neck and threw him, head first, into the pool of acid beneath one of the treacherous ledges. The doppelganger screamed for a few moments, and then blue light exploded from beneath the surface. "Are you okay?" Dulcea asked.

"I am now," Justin breathed, pulling his hood and sash down. "Did you take care of the other Dulcea?"

Dulcea pointed to a feminine body, clad in silver, stretched out against a stone wall. "She's dead, Justin," Dulcea whispered. "Come on, let's go."

"Shouldn't something be happening?" Justin asked. "Isn't there actually a great big monolith?"

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," Dulcea sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Justin asked nervously.

"Guess I'll have to kill you as well," Dulcea sighed. "You know, I was going to tell the Rangers we simply failed getting the Great Power. I guess I'm going to have to tell them that you died."

Justin began to back away from Dulcea slowly, but for every step he took away, she took one closer. "Dulcea?" Justin asked nervously, casting a glance at the prone silver clad body a few feet away.

The Dulcea walking toward him opened her eyes wide, and they began to glow an unearthly green. "I guess I'll have to kill you as well," she said. With that, she ran at Justin.

He gave a slight cry of alarm and ran up the stone incline leading to the ledge above the pool of acid. He slid to a stop at its edge, throwing his arms out to catch himself. Nervously, he turned to look at the approaching warrior. _A Ninja is master of the environment around him,_ Justin thought frantically, recalling Dulcea's training. His eyes quickly darted all about, looking for a suitable weapon. It was then that he got his idea.

"Come on, Dulcea!" Justin cried. He ran to the end of the cliff and jumped. He sailed through the air with the greatest of ease, nimbly landing on a fallen tree, suspended twenty-five feet above the ground. Fake Dulcea was close behind. Justin ran to the end of the log and dropped to the ground. He then somersaulted away and prepared himself for Dulcea's landing. The Silver Ninja dropped from the tree, and before she had a chance to regain her balance, Justin leapt into the air and put all of his weight into a hurricane kick. He caught her in the jaw, and before he had a chance to register the pain that shot up his leg, he kicked her again. Fake Dulcea never had a chance to counter his attacks, because unlike the real Dulcea, she didn't know how to push pain aside. Instead, it continued to come to the forefront of her mind, until it was all she could focus on. His attack was simple but successful, and he kicked her, changing styles with each attack. Fake Dulcea was quickly becoming tired, no longer even attempting to fight back.

Suddenly, silver flashed past Justin again, and the real Dulcea kicked Fake Dulcea into the pool of acid. She fell to her knees beside Justin, her hands immediately going to her forehead. "I couldn't let you kill her," Dulcea said, gingerly touching the wound from the fist-sized rock Fake Dulcea had pummeled her with. "That's the kind of thing you don't get over. Even if she isn't real."

"Are you the real Dulcea?" Justin asked nervously.

"Real as it gets," Dulcea said. Before either had a chance to say anything else, the ground began to shake. The temple doors slid open, and as if controlled by an unseen hand, a gargantuan stone monolith began to slide out. White light shone out all around them, yet despite its brightness, Justin felt compelled to walk toward it. The Monolith slid completely out of the temple, revealing a large golden circle on its forefront. A seahorse, the same image as on Justin's chest piece, was the only totem visible on it. The emblem began to glow white, and a tiny SeahorseZord, composed of light, burst from it. The image of light began to circle Justin, leaving a sparkling trail of light in the air.

A wide smile crept across his face, and then the tiny visage of light darted into the coin on his Ninjetti Suit. Blue light flashed before his eyes, and he felt the familiar tickling strain of growing to what would someday be his full height of six foot three. When the light subsided, he looked down at himself and saw that he was morphed into his Blue Turbo Ninja Armor. It was virtually the same as his real Turbo armor. It was made of the same bizarre metal/plastic three-dimensional armor alloy, as well as covered with the black lines bisecting each of his limbs and running an intricate course across his abdomen and back, making it look similar to a racing jumpsuit. However, while his real Turbo armor had an orange rectangle in the center of his chest, his new Ninja armor had a white rectangle with a golden coin set in the center, holding the emblem of the Seahorse. "This is incredible!" Justin finally cried at last. He turned to look at Dulcea, and was shocked to see that she was not a Ranger as well. "What happened?"

"I can't be a Ranger," Dulcea explained. "My fighting skills rival that of a Ranger without special powers. Are you ready to return to Earth?"

"Let's go!" Justin cried happily. His hands moved to the blue morpher on his belt, and he disappeared in a sparkling stream of blue light. Dulcea was close behind, her teleport stream now silver.

~*~

Squatt cautiously waddled up to the dying demon. "Jenga?" he asked nervously. "Are you okay?"

"Do I sound like I'm okay?!" Jenga barked. Her hands immediately went to her stomach and she violently vomited up a considerable portion of blood.

"Eew," Squatt muttered, backing away from the blood. "What should I do?"

"I don't know," she groaned. The pain that flooded through her body was worse than any she had ever felt. "Get... MasterVile. Quick. Ivan, too."

"You got it," Squatt said, hurrying away as fast as his short stubby blue legs would carry him.

Jenga attempted to crawl away. She had expected death to hurt, but not that bad. The purity of the Great Power had invaded her body via the mental link she shared with Justin. It was as though she had fought for the Power and was standing beside him when the Monolith was activated. Unfortunately, the Great Power had a fail-safe that would instantly obliterate any being of evil that tried to tap it. It struggled to get out of her body, and it was killing her in the process. She finally made it out of the room, only to trip and collapse against the opposite wall. Whimpering, she tried to climb to her feet, only to have both legs collapse beneath her.

"Jenga," a soothing female voice said. She felt hands touch her arm, and when she finally mustered the strength to turn her head, she saw Diva Tox kneeling beside her. "What's happening?"

"I'm dying," Jenga muttered, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth as she said so.

"You can't die," Diva Tox said sympathetically. "You're Jenga."

"It doesn't matter if I'm Jenga or not," she groaned. "Justin... just tapped the Great Power. I got it too... 'cause of the link. It's killing me."

"We have to get it out of your body," Diva Tox said.

"I don't know how," Jenga groaned. She whimpered again and slid to the floor. "Please. Call MasterVile... and Zedd...."

"I'm here, honey," MasterVile said as he hurried to his dying wife's side.

She smiled as best she could at him. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her right eye. "This is my end," she said softly.

"What's doing this to her?" MasterVile asked. Ivan Ooze hurried up to them as well, as did Lord Zedd. Various henchmen from the Dynasty were quickly filling the small stone hallway.

"The Great Power," Diva Tox answered. "It's in her body."

"So we take it out," Ivan Ooze said. "We need a coin."

"That won't work," Jenga said, her voice getting ever softer.

"Well I think it will," Ivan Ooze said forcefully. "We just need something to channel the Great Power into. A coin, gem, something...."

"A ruby," Diva Tox said before disappearing in a crimson flash. She returned to the same spot a split second later with a large palm-sized perfectly polished ruby.

"This will do nicely," Ivan Ooze said. He placed the ruby against her chest and then spread his purple hands open wide. Black light overwhelmed her body, and as though captured in a vortex created by the ruby, the light swirled into it. Light flashed, knocking everyone present backwards.

MasterVile scrambled back to her side and gently touched her face. "Jenga?" Her body immediately caught fire, and in a matter of seconds, she was reduced to nothing more than ashes. A preternatural breeze passed through the hallway, scattering her into nothingness. Only the ruby remained.

~*~

"Use one of the Machine Empire's monsters," Diva Tox suggested, practically running to keep up with him. "Dammit MasterVile." She ran ahead of him and forcibly stopped him. "I know you're mad and I know you're hurting, but if you try to make a monster when you are feeling like this, it's going to be worthless and will get destroyed in no time at all. Have Mondo make one."

MasterVile stopped walking. He suddenly burst into tears and slammed his fist into the closest wall, causing it to fragment from the impact. "How could he do that to her? He's just a little kid!"

"I'll take care of everything," Diva Tox promised. "You... go rest or something. You don't need to be trying to run everything around here. Just... go take a nap. Okay? Jenga wouldn't want you to be acting like this."

MasterVile only nodded woodenly and teleported away. Diva Tox sighed sadly and looked at the ruby, still in her hand. The Great Power could actually be seen within its translucent surface, just a small white flame. It was almost hard to believe that the tiny flicker of purity had killed Jenga, the most powerful, evil demonness in the universe.

"Mondo!" Diva Tox bellowed. "Get in here!" The Machine King quickly scurried up to her. "I need your strongest beast now," Diva Tox said. "Something... bad. Can you handle that?"

"Certainly," Mondo promised, nodding solemnly before disappearing in his standard yellow teleport.

Diva Tox strode across the main palatial room, stopping only when coming to the balcony. _She's gone. Jenga Xett is dead..._ She stared at the ruby in her hand and frowned angrily. With an angry bellow, she pulled her arm back and threw the ruby at the Earth as hard as she possibly could. As soon as it disappeared into the darkness, she sank to her knees and began crying uncontrollably.

Angel Grove, California
June 20, 1997, Friday
8:21 a.m.
The ruby curved around the planet, striking dead center on Diva Tox's target of Angel Grove. Due to the Great Power within it, it was just short of a sentient being. While it didn't have emotions, it could sense intelligence. The ruby lay in a small foot-wide crater in the middle of Angel Grove Park. The crater's size was greatly reduced due to its magic power, as it attempted to hide its presence. Before it could completely bury itself within the Earth, it was discovered. The ruby felt fingers pick it up, and immediately, black light shot up that person's arm. The person, who was out on a morning jog, gave a slight cry at the sudden violation. A split second later, the ruby's transformation of the person was complete. "You are Phantom Ranger," a voice said within the person's mind. "You are evil. Come with me. I will tell all."

"Evil," Phantom Ranger said. Phantom Ranger looked down at the its armored body. It knew it was a Ranger, the voice had told it so, but, _why can't i remember who i am?..._, it didn't look like a normal Ranger. Phantom Ranger was heavily armored in black, with a black and silver chest plate, hiding its gender. Tubing traversed its body, and the visor took up most of the helmet. Various gold and silver decorations dotted Phantom Ranger's helmet, but it was actually a very boring design. However, Phantom Ranger was designed to withstand great attacks, not win popularity contests with the public. After all, Phantom Ranger was evil. It didn't know who it had been, but the voice assured Phantom Ranger that it didn't matter.

"I am evil," Phantom Ranger said in a deep male voice, dripping with anger. Tipping its head back, Phantom Ranger laughed wickedly, a deep booming laugh that echoed for miles. Still laughing, Phantom Ranger pointed its hands to the sky and disappeared in an ugly black smear.

~*~

Phantom Ranger slowly reached up to remove its helmet. As soon as the seal was broken, blue light flooded the room. Diva Tox didn't even look at Phantom Ranger's identity, but instead turned to see the form that the blue light coalesced into. "Jenga?" she asked cautiously.

"You didn't really think I was dead, did you?" Jenga asked. "Actually, I haven't felt more refreshed."

"It's really you?" Diva Tox asked, stepping toward her. "What happened?"

"Turns out I can't be killed!" Jenga cried happily. "Who'da thunk?"

"You're alive," Diva Tox said in awe still. She finally rushed at Jenga and grabbed her in a bear hug which Jenga eagerly returned.

"My body was temporarily annihilated by the Great Power," Jenga explained, "but my soul and essence were captured in that ruby with the Great Power. I kind of got knocked out somewhere in there, but I woke back up when Phantom Ranger touched the ruby for the first time. I made us an evil Ranger with the Great Power, Phantom Ranger here, and recreated my body from the ashes. And lo and behold, here I am!"

"Mom?" Lord Zedd asked, carefully walking into the palatial room. "Is it you?"

"It's me, baby," Jenga said. "I'm back." Lord Zedd gave a happy cry and ran at his mother. She was picked up by the seven foot tall beast and swung around in a tight hug. "Okay, dear, that's too tight," Jenga grunted, removing herself from his embrace.

"We thought you were dead," Lord Zedd said happily. "Who's that?"

"Phantom Ranger," Jenga answered. "Go get MasterVile, 'kay?"

"You got it, Mom," Zedd promised, running out of the room.

"No longer than you were gone, things were already falling apart around here," Diva Tox told her with a smile.

"We can talk more about that later," Jenga said. "I want to tell you about my Ranger."

"So this Ranger is ours?" Diva Tox asked.

"Sure is," Jenga answered. "I just happened to luck out and have someone in the Ranger's lives pick up the ruby. Should be very interesting. You'll also notice I made the armor so that it hides gender. There are breast molds underneath that chest plate, but there's also a cup, so it could be either. I've made the height a very genderless five foot ten, as well as the frame. Fighting skill is that of an ordinary Ninja Ranger."

"Why does Phantom Ranger look all blank-faced like that?" Diva Tox asked.

"Because I told Phantom Ranger to," Jenga said. "This person will not remember a previous identity while morphed, and when unmorphed will not remember being an evil Ranger. The exact opposite of Rita's fling with Tommy. Actually, I'm going to hypnotize this little Ranger of ours with a window of access. That way, I can dispatch the Phantom Ranger into battle without a force-morph."

"Is there any way the Rangers could figure out who our Ranger is?" Diva Tox asked.

"I don't think so," Jenga said, smiling. "We'll wait until the next four Rangers leave to go sliding, probably tomorrow morning, and when we have only five left here, one of whom is very inexperienced, we'll send Phantom Ranger into battle."

~*~

"I got the Power!" Justin shouted, removing his helmet and shrinking to his normal height in the process.

"The slider is ready to go," Catalina said. "As soon as you've gotten a good night's rest, you'll be able to leave."

Justin nodded his agreement and de-morphed. "It was afternoon on Phaedos," he said. "Here?"

"Early morning," Zordon answered. "Why don't you return home? I'm sure Rebecca will be glad to see you again."

Justin nodded and teleported away.

~*~

"Mom?" she asked, leaning away from him to look at his face. "Did you call me Mom?"

"Is that okay?" Justin asked.

"What about Alicia?" Rebecca asked. "I mean, I don't want you to forget your mom, or think I'm trying to replace her."

"It's kind of hard to explain, but she's okay with it," Justin said. "I'd like to call you Mom."

Rebecca smiled warmly and tried to keep hot tears from sliding down her cheeks. "I'd like that. A lot."

~*~

"Yeah," Tommy said slowly. "You would not believe the surprise I got."

"They already knew?"

"They didn't know," Tommy said, "but Chelsea and Teddy did."

"My little sister knew, too," Trini said, "but I think Ashley's been reading my diary. My dad was surprisingly cool about it, so I think he might have suspected."

"What exactly did you tell them about the actual sliding part?" Skull asked. "I just told Dad the Ranger bit and that I had to leave on a Ranger emergency for a few days."

"That's about as detailed as I got," Tommy said. "No use pushing Mom over the edge."

"How did your dad take it?" Trini asked, already smiling. Reverend Skullovitch was Angel Grove's most bizarre Ranger supporter, differing from all others in that he was a minister.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he mentions it in his sermon on Sunday morning," Skull said. "I had to morph to prove it to my parents."

"So did I," Tommy and Trini said in unison.

"You two realize we might not come back," Trini said. "Right?"

"I kind of figured that was a possibility," Skull said thoughtfully. "But if Kim's out there-..."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't kind of excited about it," Tommy said truthfully. "We're gonna get to see a lot of cool things."

"I just wish there was some way we could stay in contact with home," Trini said. "As soon as we leave, even Catalina won't be able to reach us." The three teens quieted as Ernie approached their table with their drinks. Even though the man knew of the Rangers' secrets, they still didn't want him to know that they were about to leave the dimension. He was like a mother hen to the Rangers, a position that did not go unappreciated, although it did get old at times.

"I'm going to miss these more than anything," Tommy said thoughtfully, taking a long sip of his blueberry and cream smoothie.

"At least we'll be able to take money with us when we leave," Trini said. "I'd say the others probably had to do a lot of... well, going hungry. And dirty."

"The same clothes everyday," Tommy said.

"What did Billy do about his contacts?" Skull asked.

"He wears the type that you only have to change once a week," Trini said. "He can sleep in them, shower, anything like that. I guess they just got a little dirty on him after a while."

"How would you know?" Tommy asked thoughtfully.

"Girlfriends know these things," Trini said seriously. "Besides, I'm trying to get him to switch back to glasses."

"Where is Justin?" Skull asked.

"He's still sleeping," Trini answered. "Apparently the trip for the Great Power takes a lot out of you."

"More than you can even imagine," Tommy muttered. "When are we leaving? Tomorrow morning."

"I suppose so," Trini sighed. "Maybe we can be back by Sunday night with our Rangers."

"That would be nice," Skull said with an enthusiastic grin. It was still at times hard for him to believe that Kimberly Ann Hart was his girlfriend. He just wanted to be in the same dimension as she was, wherever that happened to be.

~*~

"I think you've already done it," Rita groaned before she darted to the closest bathroom.

"Huh?" he grunted, not even looking up from his newspaper. Rita's projectile vomiting was the only answer.

Saturday morning....
The Rangers, along with a few parents and siblings, stood at the base of the mountain the Command Center was set on. Tommy, Skull, Trini, and Justin each had a loaded backpack, full of supplies, though they intended to be back home in less than forty-eight hours. "Are you ready?" Trini asked, looking at the three men around her.

"Ready," Justin said solemnly.

"You all be careful," Rebecca told them.

"Let's go," Tommy said, wanting to leave before the parents got emotional again.

Trini pointed the slider before her. She quickly flipped it open and pushed a button on it. A beam of white light shot from it, stopping in mid-air and forming a swirling vortex of light. "Slider has to go last," Trini said. "That'll make the vortex close."

"I'll go first," Tommy volunteered. He cast one last look at this family, and then ran at the vortex. It was temporarily colored red, only to be followed by green light as Skull dove in after him.

"Bye Mom, Dad," Justin said. He then ran at the portal and jumped in head-first. It flashed blue, leaving only Trini behind. She smiled as happily as she could at her friends and family, and then jumped into the wormhole leading to a different dimension. It flashed yellow, and then promptly closed into nothingness.

~*~

"I am troubled," she said thoughtfully. "I just came... from that other dimension." She was pale and quite obviously troubled.

"Catalina?" Alpha asked, slowly approaching her. "Let's not tell the Rangers this," she said, "but... There is a huge, major war going on there. End of the world type war. Armageddon. It's been going on for about twelve hours now, and each side has had victories and defeats. Sigma kicked me out and is blocking me, so I can't find out everything, but...."

"Catalina, you are worrying me," Zordon boomed.

"I'll just say it straight out," she said softly. "I don't have any names, and I don't even know if its our Rangers or the others, but three Rangers, two blue and a pink, are missing, possibly dead, and one of the two Red Rangers is definitely dead. I don't know which is which, but, it could be any combination of ours. Even if they weren't ours, there are children dying in that dimension. And we just sent four more right into the middle of it."

Saturday afternoon
2:18 p.m.
"We're down to just the Turbo Team," Jenga said. "Zack, Adam, Bulk, Tanya, and Aisha."

"Time to strike?" Diva Tox asked hopefully.

"Time to strike," Jenga said. "We'll send some Tengas, give cause to call the Monster Alarm, and then dispatch Phantom Ranger."

"Sounds exciting."

"Oh it will be. It will be very exciting."

DeSantos Household....
"Can I please go, Mama?" Rosa asked.

Maria DeSantos had been overly protective of her children, ever since learning that Rocky had been a Ranger and was currently in a different dimension. She didn't tend to be too lenient on curfews or granting permissions. "I don't know, Rosa," she said.

"Please, Mama?" Rosa asked. "It's just the Youth Center."

"You have a tendency to get in trouble," Maria reminded her pre-teen daughter.

"I'm going to see Franklin," Rosa said. "You like Franklin!"

"Franklin?"

"Si, mama."

"Okay, just try to stay out of trouble."

Rosa smiled happily and ran out of the house.

~*~

"I understand, sir," Dulcea said. "Truth be told, I am also needed elsewhere."

"Dismissed," Lt. Stone said.

~*~

"Uh, I've been here for a few days," David said. "Seen Tommy around?"

"No, actually I haven't," Emily said. "Maybe he went back to Covina?"

"Maybe," David mused. David shook his head thoughtfully and said, "Look, I have something to take care of, but if you see him, would you send him my direction?"

"You got it," Emily promised.

~*~

"You first," Rosa said.

"I have to break our...."

"Date?"

"Yeah, I guess it was a date," Franklin said before blushing.

"You are just like your brother," she moaned. "I also have something that just came up. Maybe we could do this later this afternoon?"

"Yeah," Franklin said. "Yeah. We could go see a movie or something."

"I don't have money for a movie," Rosa said sadly.

"It'll be my treat," Franklin mumbled, barely able to say the words outloud.

"Really?" Rosa asked.

"Yeah," Franklin said, shaking his head overenthusiastically.

"So, I guess I'll see you then," Rosa said. "Right?"

"Okay. Uhm, bye."

"Bye."

~*~

"Zack, we need to go," Aisha said, tapping him on the shoulder as she and Adam ran out of the Youth center.

"It's about our class," Fred said. "I hate to stand you up on my first lesson from you, but I kind of promised my dad I'd help clean out our basement about a week ago and I kinda sorta forgot."

"That's okay, man, it's cool," Zack said. "I have something I need to do now too. Private emergency. Catch me around some time, give me a call or something, and we'll reschedule."

"All right, cool," Fred said, turning to leave the Juice Center at the same time Zack did.

"Emily," Ernie called, darting into the room just as Zack and Fred left. He ran up to his only worker behind the bar. "I hate to just spring this on you, but I have a family emergency to take care of. Can you watch the bar for an hour or two on your own?"

"Yeah, no prob," Emily said. "It'll be fine." A moment later, a loud siren, indicating a monster attack, filled the air. "Looks like we'll be spending all of our time in the basement anyhow." The Juice Bar had long been considered an official Monster Shelter, due to the fact that so many teens were always in it. Emily pressed a red button beneath the bar, causing a siren to sound in the youth center as well. "Everybody, we're under a monster alert," she called. "If you'll all follow me to the basement, we should be fine."

~*~

"Throw the Tengas for a loop," Adam agreed.

"You guys ready?" Dulcea asked. "Ninja Ranger Power Now!"

"Snow Owl!"

"Bear!"

"Gazelle!"

"Lion!"

"Frog!"

"Giraffe!"

Lights flashed in the Command Center, leaving the five teens plus Dulcea clad in their Ninjetti Suits. They were not in their Ranger colors, but rather in their Ninja Color. Aisha was clad in white, Zack in black, Adam in green, Tanya in yellow, Dulcea in silver, and Bulk in a bizarre black Ninjetti Suit with the chest shield a brilliant sparkling gold. However, his body was not changed into the muscular morphed form. Rather, he was in his portly body, only enhanced with fighting skills. They also used the full face masks, leaving only their eyes exposed, to preserve their identities.

"I don't like this," Bulk muttered, looking at the bizarre black and gold Ninjetti Suit on his stocky frame. "I don't like this at all."

"Don't worry about it, Bulk," Tanya said. "We've got Tengas to take down."

"Let's go," Dulcea said. They immediately shot up into the sky, teleporting away in their Turbo colors.

~*~

"You guys!" Bulk shouted, pointing to the opposite side of the park. "Look at that!"

The five Rangers and Dulcea turned to look at the new mysterious Ranger on the field. "Who are you?" Aisha called.

"Identify yourself!" Adam shouted as well. The black armored Ranger slowly walked toward them. When it reached a distance of about fifty feet, it stopped.

"I am Phantom Ranger," it said in a deep bass voice.

"Ranger?" Tanya asked.

"You guys," Zack said warily, "I don't like where this is headed."

"Friend or foe?" Dulcea demanded to know.

Phantom Ranger walked closer, never once actually making a move for any weapon or giving indication of an attack. "I am most definitely foe," Phantom Ranger said calmly. No one made a single move. Phantom Ranger didn't attack, so the Ninja Rangers didn't attempt to defend. "Play your card, Phantom," Zack said at long last.

Although a black helmet hid its face, Adam knew a smile crossed Phantom Ranger's face. A split second later, a sharp axe blade hit him square in the chest.

End